Healthcare IT Update

Having trouble plodding through the 555-page HITECH reg? Our experts spell out the basic requirements for collecting cash.

If you help to run a hospital or a physician’s office that sees Medicare and Medicaid patients, you might think you know red tape. Well, if you plan on seeing any of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 incentive money for adopting electronic health records technology, get ready for a whole new world of red before you see any green.

On Dec. 30, 2009, CMS issued a proposed rule that would implement the incentive payment provisions of ARRA. Payments will be offered to Medicare and Medicaid providers and facilities that adopt and “meaningfully use” electronic health record technology, and this proposed rule is the first indication of how CMS plans to define ARRA’s requirements.

The most anticipated part of the reg…